About the Birds and the Bats
by Charlene Edwards
Summary: The original Batgirl and Robin face off against a Valentine's Villian


Title: About the Birds and the Bats

Author: Charlene Edwards

Rating: PG

Diclaimer: The characters belong to DC. The story belongs to me. 

Thanks to Patty for the quick beta read and helping me work through the ending, and to Gina for requesting Valentine's fic and for keeping at me to finish it. I would've finished and posted yesterday BUT I had 10th row tickets to see Kid Rock so the fics a day late lol. I hope you all enjoy the fic. Char :-)

About the Birds and the Bats:

"Where's your partner?" a soft voice asked.

The boy who stood atop Gotham Cathedral grinned. "Out of town. Catwoman's expected to steal some jewel in New York and he always has to chase her on Valentine's Day. It's a tradition."

"It's a weird tradition," Batgirl added as she moved closer to him. 

Robin shrugged. "Yeah, probably, but he has the hots for her. Anyway, he's gone and he left me in charge of the city."

Batgirl laughed. "Yeah, ri-ight. You're not even in charge of a study hall."

Robin turned and glared at Batgirl. She hadn't been officially in the suit two months, he was on his sixth year as Robin. No rookie was going to make fun of him; especially not a girl. "I am his partner not an interloper, Miss Gordon."

"You're a brat," she spat playfully. "So what's up for tonight?"

"Not a lot. Stopped a few muggings, one carjacking and three drug deals. Why are you out and about roof crawling? I thought you'd be on a date with Lieutenant Bard."

"I'm not dating him!" she protested. 

"You went to the 'Welcome Back' spring semester opening dance at GCU with him three weeks ago. He's not exactly a campus co-ed."

Batgirl stared drop-mouthed at the colorfully clad boy. "Have you been following me?" she asked indignant. 

"No," he replied a little too quickly as heat rushed into his face. 

"You little stalker," she laughed and playfully punched him in the shoulder. "Do I need a Bat restraining order?"

"No," he whined. "I wasn't following you. I was just ... doing surveillance ... at GCU and I saw you ... and him ... at the dance."

She folded her gloved arms across her chest. "And what exactly were you surveiling?"

Robin felt his chest flutter. Before he had to answer, however, he saw something that made him smile. "Batsignal." He prepared to shoot his jumpline out into the night and looked back at her before jumping from the roof, "You coming?"

* * *

Batgirl stood quietly behind Robin on the roof of Gotham's police headquarters. She tried to remain in as much of the shadows as she could, leaving Robin to take the lead in talking to Commissioner Gordon. Robin was 'in charge' after all.

"I don't like this," Gordon continued his reservations. "I'd rather Batman handle this. Poison Ivy is a dangerous psychotic."

"I'm sorry Commissioner. He's out of town on ... business. He left me ... us ... in charge. Batgirl and I can handle this."

Jim Gordon sighed and reluctantly handed the boy the manila file folder. "Ivy's attacking florists. Two florists and a deliveryman are in the hospital. One's in a coma, the other two are critical."

"Florists," Robin sighed. "She has a vendetta against Valentine flowers. We're on it Commissioner." He moved to the edge and, together with Batgirl, they jumped over the ledge together. 

* * *

"I do like all your toys," Batgirl said as she fingered the cave's equipment. 

"Only the best for our little club," Robin replied with a grin. He quickly lost his grin when the screen flashed a huge red error message at him. 

"Just move," she said pushing him from the black leather chair. "I'll run the searches. I'm pretty good with computers."

"You can have them," Robin replied. "I like the more physical aspects of detective work. You know, getting my hands dirty."

"Blood, gore, broken bones. That kind of dirty?"

"You know it," he smiled. "It gets results."

"It doesn't give you much time for dating though does it Dick?"

He shrugged and grabbed his hand rings pulling himself up and turning feet over head. As he held himself upside down in the air, he responded, "Its ok. I'm busy enough."

"But don't you get lonely?" she asked.

"Maybe, sometimes. But the girls at school," he sighed and flipped back down. "They're just ... silly."

"They're teenagers Dick. They're supposed to be silly. You're supposed to be silly."

"You're a teenager and you're not silly," he said softly as he walked closer to her.

"I'm an adult."

"You're eighteen. Teen as in teenager. Besides, eighteen's not an adult. Alfred says so," Robin replied quickly. 

Batgirl glared at him. "It's legally an adult."

"That's only three years older than me. I'm pretty sure that's not "adult". I know for sure Bruce and Alfred won't treat me like one."

"Bruce will never treat you like an adult, not even when you're sixty. Just like Daddy. That's their job. Besides, you're already more of an adult than you should be," she said reaching up to push a black lock of hair from his face. "You're more mature than most of the guys in my classes." The computer pinged successfully. Batgirl turned to the screen. "Bingo. Looks like she's using curare. These men are lucky they're still alive."

"Curare only works in the blood. But the medical reports don't note any puncture wounds," Robin mumbled as he studied the medical reports of the three men who had fell victim to Ivy's poisoning. "How's she ... roses. It's Valentines day, guys are sending roses. Roses have thorns."

"Thorns prick people's hands getting curare in the bloodstream. So how is she getting the curare on the roses?"

"That's a good question, Babs. I wish I had a good answer."

Batgirl nodded then smiled. "Let me see if I can find a common distributor for the roses." She turned back to the massive computer. 

Robin smiled as he watched her fingers fly across the keyboards entering her searches and "Are you hacking into a system?"

"Yes. It makes it easier to get the information. It's like when you break into a building to search through a file cabinet," she replied.

"I know why you're doing it, I've just never watched it done before," Robin replied rolling his eyes. 

"Live and learn little bird," she said with a smile as her hands flew over the keyboards. "Seems all of three florists used a new nursery located on North Gotham Island. Nightshade Nursery."

"Gee, you'd think these people could figure out not to order roses from a place named after a poisonous plant," Robin said as he picked up the phone. "I'll tell your dad to put out a warning. Looks like other people are already being hospitalized from these roses based on the news reports."

"We need to go weed the rose bushes," Batgirl said as she headed toward the motorcycle bay. 

* * *

"Looks like Ivy's been experimenting with roses and curare," Robin spoke into his com. "She didn't put the poison on the roses, it's a natural part of them. Curare seeps from the thorns. That was inventive," he mused as he examined Poison Ivy's handiwork.

"I have a green thumb," the sulty voice called. 

Robin turned, his eyes wide behind his black mask. "What's the matter Ivy? Didn't have a date for tonight?"

The woman in green smiled at him. "Valentine's day is an abomination. Millions of flowers mutilated and brutalized all in the name of love. Love can be deadly. Next year, people will think twice about ordering the death of beautiful flowers."

"You need a life, lady," Robin replied as he pulled a bolo from his utility belt. He threw the bolo and watched it wrap around her leafy costume. "Pruning time."

"Not likely," Ivy replied as her palms opened and seed pods shot out. As they hit the ground, they spouted into swiftly growing strangling lianas. Two of the lines of the mutated vegatation wrapped around Robin's leg's like tendrils while others broke the bolo off their green mistress. 

"Holy creeping vines," Robin said as he struggled against the vines unearthly tight grip. 

"There, there little bird, enjoy the nest. You'll be sleeping in it a long time. All you need is one little ... " she smiled sinfully at the boy before continuing, "Valentine's kiss." 

"I don't think so," Batgirl said as she stood in the doorway to the nursery. 

Ivy whirled and threw more seed pods towards the newcomer. Batgirl calmly stood in the door and tossed her own batarangs. They sliced through the pods with ease and continued on until connecting with Poison Ivy's head. Batgirl watched as Ivy fell to the floor, "No one kisses my date but me. It's just rude." With a few pellets to neutralize the lianas, Batgirl used the sharp edges of the batarangs to cut Robin from the vines that bound him. "Don't you know you're not supposed to dance with someone other than the girl you brought? No wonder you didn't have a date for tonight."

"I knew you'd come for me. Tree pruners always go out on a limb for you." Robin grinned as he shook off the green tendrils and stepped from the vines.

Batgirl groaned. "I can't believe you actually said that."

"Me? I got a million of them," he smiled up at her as he handcuffed the unconscious Ivy. 

"That's what I'm afraid of," Batgirl replied shaking her head. 

* * *

Dick sat the tray of hot cocoa on the coffee table and sat beside Barbara on the red leather sofa. The fire was warm and inviting. "I tried to make the cocoa like Alfred's. I probably didn't succeed, but it's better than Bruce's."

"I have a hard time imagining Bruce Wayne trying to do anything in the kitchen," she said as she sipped the steaming liquid. "It's hot ... but good."

Dick smiled and sipped his own. "Alfred always says a good night's crimefighting deserves a late night snack."

"I like the way he thinks," she said as she put her feet up on the coffeetable and stretched out. "Thanks for loaning me a pair of pajamas and saying I could stay in one of the bedrooms tonight. It's a long way back to school and its gotten cold outside."

"It's not like we don't have enough bedrooms. I think we have twenty or so. So, did you decide what movie you wanted to watch? We've got lots of stuff to choose from -- action, my favorite," he grinned. "Mystery, drama, horror, and a few you could qualify as almost a chick flick. No real ones though, this is a house of guys."

"Chick flick? Who did you get that from?"

"That's what Roy calls them."

"That's probably a bad association for you," she said as she munched on the bowl of popcorn that sat between them.

"That's what Bruce says," Dick laughed as he grabbed a handful of popcorn and started tossing them in his mouth. 

Barbara laughed. "Imagine that." 

Dick tossed kernals of popcorn into the air and artfully caught them in his mouth. "Did he give you something for Valentines day?"

"He?" she asked as she watched him juggling the popcorn. "Jason? He sent me a teddy. I'd have rather had chocolates."

"You don't like stuffed animals?"

"Not that kind of teddy silly," she said rolling her eyes. "The kind you wear."

"Oh," Dick said knowingly as he sipped the hot liquid. "Do you miss him? Shouldn't you be with him tonight?"

"I told you before I'm not dating Jason." Barbara's eyes glittered with a wicked glint. "Besides on a cold Valentine's night I think I prefer a peck from a little bird tonight." Barbara tilted his chin up and looked into his wide blue eyes and gently brushed her lips across his.

"Be careful, you maybe suffereing from untweetable canarial disease," he said breathlessly as she moved back. He laughed as she groaned, dropping her head on his chest. 

"Crimefighting, cocoa and bad puns. You really know how to treat a girl to a good Valentine's Day." 

THE END


End file.
